Let's learn about the extremely dangerous Covid Epsilon

1. Where did you find it?

The Epsilon virus was first identified in July 2020 in California. Also known as CAL.20C, this Kovid variant is a combination of B.1.427 and B.1.429. This Kovid species is currently widespread in Pakistan. Patients infected with the Epsilon strain have been found in Lahore, Pakistan, near the Indian border. In Pakistan, it is currently spreading at a rate similar to that of the Delta variety. At the same time, it is said that this group of viruses is resistant to vaccines.

2. The role of the vaccine

The Kovid vaccine only controls the disease. It does not create a magical power against the disease in the body. Also, people who are rarely vaccinated are more likely to contract and die from the disease due to a weakened immune system. Although almost all existing vaccines are immunosuppressive, those vaccines are still available. But for most people, the disease does not get worse until they are hospitalized. So even with the Kovid vaccine, Epsilon can develop. But it remains to be seen whether there is a lack of immunity to Epsilon through vaccines.

3. Research into vaccine resistance

Researchers at the University of Washington have found that several types of proteins in the Epsilon virus group are different. They have found that there are times when the antibodies produced by those different protein injections are not compatible. Vaccines or naturally occurring antibodies help to suppress the virus. Current research has shown that Epsilon can disrupt the normalization of these antibodies.

4. What does this mean?

When the original SARS Covid 2 virus was discovered in Wuhan in 2019, the virus spread with a crown-shaped outer shell. There, glycoproteins outside the virus were allowed to enter the human body. This new type of Epsilon has been able to produce these glycoproteins and make those glycoproteins more efficient.

5. Spread

Like the new variants of the Covid Delta and Alpha, this type of Epsilon is spreading faster. Epsilon is said to be 20% more efficient than the previous standard Covid. Indian experts fear that the next wave of corona virus will be Epsilon due to the rapid spread of Delta strain across India and Asia as well as Epsilon. With the spread of this especially in Pakistan, the risk of Epsilon spreading has increased in neighboring India as well.

6. Occurrence of Epsilon

Epsilon is thought to have originated from a combination of several strains of the corona virus. Epsilon has been able to break down 14 of the 34 antibodies to the corona virus. It has been suggested that the Epsilon type, which is now more prevalent than the original Epsilon category in California, could be more dangerous. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern over the Epsilon group, which has been found in 34 countries.

7. Risk of vaccine resistance

If injections reduce the ability of Epsilon to suppress, there will be a big problem. At present in Sri Lanka nearly 20 million vaccines have been administered. More than a billion doses have been injected worldwide so far. Accordingly, in many countries the health sector and the elderly with chronic diseases who are at high risk of contracting and becoming infected have been vaccinated. But if the new variant is not more compatible with the injected vaccine, additional vaccines will have to be given to all these vaccinators. It is a huge operation, a process as well as an expense.

Debt-ridden countries like Sri Lanka have lagged behind in all walks of life due to Kovid. Even the world's largest economies have been shaken by Kovid. So it would be to our advantage if we could find a vaccine to reduce the spread of this new strain in some way. We sincerely hope so.